Andrew Jackson King
Andrew Jackson King | |
|---|---|
Los Angeles, California , U.S. | |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, judge |
| Spouse | Laura Cecelia Evertson |
| Children | 4 sons, 4 daughters |
| Parent(s) | Samuel King Martha Mee |
Andrew Jackson King (c. 1833–1923), or A. J. King, was a lawman, lawyer, legislator and judge in 19th Century Los Angeles County, California.
Personal
King was born in Cherokee Purchase Land in
He traveled with his father and brothers Samuel Houston King and Francis King
King was married on December 31, 1862, to Laura C. Evertson of Los Angeles, she of French and Dutch ancestry.
Vocation
King studied law in Los Angeles with Judge
King became the first
In March 1854, King was one of the members of the California Militia Company called the
King was elected a member of the California State Assembly in 1859 and was on the committee that located the site for the State Capitol. From 1861 to 1865 he was an undersheriff of Los Angeles County.[1]
In 1865, King became a law partner of Judge Murray Morrison. From 1865 to 1870 he was also one of the proprietors and editors of the Los Angeles News.[9] In 1866 and 1867 he was City Attorney and in 1869, County Judge. In 1873 he printed and published the first city directory. He was one of the founders of the County Agricultural Society in 1871. He was active in aiding and inaugurating many of the early municipal projects of the city of Los Angeles.[1]
U.S. Civil War
As early as 1856, A. J. King, as a Southerner, demonstrated his pro-slavery attitude when as the secretary of the Democracy of El Monte organization, signed his name to their resolution:
That we will cheerfully support the nominees for State and County officers [of the Democratic Party] at the next general election, and that we will use all honorable means to defeat our opponents, under whatever name they may assume, more especially those who style themselves Black Republicans.[10]
During the secession crisis of 1861, he tried to form another militia Company like the
King did not flee eastward to the Confederacy with the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles but continued his secessionist activities. On April 10, 1862, as the
A. J. King, under-sheriff of this county, who has been a bitter secessionist, who said to me that he owed no allegiance to the United States Government; that Jeff Davis was the only constitutional government we had, and that he remained here because he could do more harm to the enemies of that Government by staying here than going there; brought down on the Senator (a steam ship) Tuesday last a large lithograph gilt-framed portrait of
Volney E. Howard as counsel, and I have but little hope that he will be retained in custody.[12]
King was released and remained in office as undersheriff until 1865.
Bella Union Hotel shootout
In 1865 there developed a conflict that came to be called the King-Carlisle feud. There are two stories of the origin of this feud, but the dispute festered between the friends and families of A.J. King and Robert Carlisle for some time. At a ball held in Los Angeles on July 5, 1865, Carlisle attacked A.J. King, and friends separated the men, with King suffering "a gash over the heart and a wound in his right hand." The next day, King's brothers, Frank and Houston, had a shootout with Carlisle inside the saloon of the Bella Union Hotel (owned by John King, another King brother); it resulted in the death of both Frank King and Carlisle. Houston King was charged with the murder of Carlisle, and A.J. King was released from his duties as undersheriff to assist in his brother's legal defense: Houston was acquitted.[13][14][15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "City's Oldest Lawyer Dead," Los Angeles Times, October 14, 1923, page 16
- ^ a b [1] "Samuel King of Abingdon, Virginia" and "Samuel Houston King," www.oocities.org
- ^ "Some Early Tragedies," Los Angeles Herald, January 30, 1899
- ^ "Married," Los Angeles Star, January 3, 1863
- ^ "Indian Arrests," Los Angeles Star, December 3, 1853
- ^ "The Mission Question," Los Angeles Star, August 18, 1855
- ^ California State Militia and National Guard Unit Histories: Monte Rangers from California Military Museum website accessed Feb. 13, 2013
- ^ J. M. Scammell, Military Units in Southern California 1853-1861, California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. XXIX, Number 3, 1950, Part II Los Angeles, Monte Rangers, p.240 from California Military Museum website
- ^ [2] He was also identified as the publisher of the Los Angeles Star.
- ^ Los Angeles Star 13 September 1856, p.2, col.2; Democracy of El Monte
- ^ J. M. Scammell, Military Units in Southern California 1853-1861, p.240]
- ^ Roger M. Grace, Candidate With Pro-Slavery Views Elected District Attorney in 1863, Metropolitan News-Enterprise, Tuesday, August 15, 2006, Page 7
- ^ Harris Newmark, Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark, edited by Maurice Harris Newmark, Marco R. Newmark, Knickerbocker Press, New York (1916).
- ^ "Murderous Affray at Los Angeles," Sacramento Daily Union, July 10, 1865
- ^ "Oldest Continuously Operated Winery in State in Cucamonga," Los Angeles Times, October 10, 1895, page 1